Sound the System Showcase [5 x 10" Box Set]

Mashing together the 2013 Alborosie releases Sound the System and Dub the System, this 2015 set lifts the best bits of both and creates a set of extended "Discomixes," which have little to do with the Village People, Evelyn "Champagne" King, or John Travolta. In dancehall or Jamaican terms, a "Discomix" is a drawn-out remix with the dub attached to the main tune, and usually packaged on a 12" or 10" record, which explains why lucky collectors picked up the deluxe version of Sound the System Showcase on five full 10" slabs of vinyl. Even when consumed digitally, this set of extended grooves pleasingly recalls the '70s and '80s, when Discomixes where almost a requirement, but even without the nostalgia, dancehall dervishes and hard-driving ravers like the opening "Play Fool (To Catch Wise)" are certainly enhanced as they approach the seven-minute mark. Ky-Mani Marley, the Abyssinians, and Nature guest on the dubs, while Alborosie handles almost all of the production and remixing on his own, stepping aside for some help from Ryan Dillon ("Shut U Mouth") and the legendary King Jammy ("Don't Pressure It"). ~ David Jeffries